Text Size

POLITICO LIVE: Reid vs. McConnell

Senate leaders have long avoided public campaigning against their counterparts, knowing full well that they have to work with one another daily in the chamber.

When Reid was facing a tough reelection bid in 2010, McConnell refused to stump against the Nevada Democrat, even as the GOP establishment threw the kitchen sink at Reid. And while they regularly attack one another’s positions on the Senate floor, sometimes in personal terms, Reid and McConnell are known to have a good working relationship.

The public deference Senate leaders have shown toward one another goes beyond campaigning; at times they’ve avoided piling on when their counterparts are in tough political spots.

In 2010, when Reid came under fire for racially insensitive remarks about President Barack Obama, McConnell repeatedly refused to criticize Reid or call for his ouster as many in his party were doing just that.

“Who’s going to be the Democratic leader of the Senate is up to the Democratic conference,” McConnell said in January 2010.

There have been exceptions. In 2004, when Daschle was facing a tough reelection bid in South Dakota, Republican Leader Bill Frist stumped on behalf of John Thune, the Republican candidate who later won the race. The move infuriated Daschle and Reid, who later called it an “unprecedented breach of Senate protocol.”

Still, it’s not as if the leaders don’t try to knock each other out of their respective seats behind the scenes.

In 2010, McConnell was very active with the National Republican Senatorial Committee as it mounted an aggressive — and ultimately unsuccessful — campaign to knock off Reid. And once again, the Democratic leader is expected to play a large role behind the scenes of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which plans to make McConnell a top target in the 2014 midterms.

Perhaps I'm old fashioned, I do not believe anyone outside the state of Kentucky should have anything to do with any and all elections held for political offices inside the state or commonwealth of Kentucky. This goes for all 50 states. No one from Nevada, New York, California or any other state has any business interfering or trying to influence a election with the borders of Kentucky or any other state besides their own. This goes for campaigning and donations of money, running political ads etc. We have laws against people from overseas donating money to the campaigns of the candidates and running ads, trying to influence who becomes president of the United States, those same laws should apply to people trying to influence any election outside the state they live in.

It should be very simple, regardless of the office the law should read if you can't vote for a candidate, you can't donate or campaign against or for that candidate.

Your stance would be okay if troglodyte McConnell could only screw up Kentucky - but he has hurt the entire country with his party before country obstructionism. That's why people outside Kentucky (that have branches in their family tree) should have a say.